Practical
Developmental Ideas November 2004
This issue is about the design of learning events. There are some principles and methods that can make learning events enjoyable and productive. When they work, learning events can make a big difference to an organisation. When they don't, they create cynicism that is very hard to shift.
What is a learning event?
A learning event is any planned and managed experience that is designed to help those involved learn new knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour. A counselling or coaching session, an experiential training course, a workshop, a team 'away day' all constitute learning events.
The important part is that they are planned and managed. The rest of this describes some principles and practices that can help these events go well.
What are the conditions under
which people learn best?
People learn best when they feel safe and supported. This happens when they are clear what is expected of them, when the risks they are asked to take are moderate and the plan of the event is clear. It also helps if people are helped rather than criticised when they make mistakes. These are inevitable when learning something new.
In general a collaborative climate will make it easier to share thoughts and feelings than a competitive one. Clearly people will be more motivated to learn if the event is seen to meet their needs.
Some design principles and ideas
Enjoyment
aids learning. We learn best when we feel safe, valued and loved. We enjoy being
stretched but not overwhelmed. There needs to be enough time to talk about and
think about what you are learning. A bit of humour helps. Hard work does not
have to be "heavy". People in other cultures sing when they work. This
makes the work more enjoyable and helps the work too.
1.
Ask participants about their best learning experiences. Incorporate what
you can into your design.
2.
Start the event with a light-hearted exercise.
3.
After an exercise or input, put people into pairs to talk about what they
have learned.
The presenter of an event should
practice what he/she preaches. If teaching the value of listening and support it
is particularly important to listen to and support the students. If teaching
presentation skills make sure the presentation part of the event is
professional. If we want people to express their feelings openly, our modelling
of this will be more important than anything we say.
1.
Think about what you want people to do at your event.
2.
Take care of yourself so you are able to function well and be a model.
3.
Work constantly on your own development.
A trusting, growthful learning
atmosphere has to be built. Trust cannot be assumed nor will it happen
immediately. People usually find it much easier to trust one person than a
group. Trust is encouraged by clear rules about confidentiality and feedback so
people know what will happen to the information they disclose. Participants
often disclose less significant information first to test our reaction and test
our trustworthiness.
1.
If possible, meet people individually before the event and find out about
their needs and concerns.
2.
Ask people about their needs and concerns at the event and listen
carefully to everyone.
3.
Talk about what will help to create a learning climate in the event, like
listening, confidentiality and sharing experiences.
The purpose of the event and the
individual activities and exercises must be clear to all those involved. If the
purpose is unclear people will be confused, uncommitted and fear manipulation.
1.
Be clear yourself. I plan events using a simple two-column form. The
first column lists what will happen and the second why. This builds clarity into
every step of the event.
2.
Spell out the purpose using simple non-technical language.
3.
Keep the design as simple as possible. Simple designs are easier to
explain and simpler to run too.
It is more useful to discover how
to do things right than how to do things wrong. The information is also more
acceptable. Most people are deeply starved of positive feedback and respond very
well when they get some. Development, and training, works best when there is no
right answer.
1.
People love talking about good experiences. Ask people, "What did
you best boss do that helped you develop?" to get excellent learning about
developing people.
2.
Draw on people's imagination. Ask, "What would this organisation, or
team, or community be like if you were completely delighted to belong to
it?"
3.
When you review exercises always start with discussing what has gone
well. This is easy to hear and act upon next time.
Ideas are most likely to be acted
on with commitment when they come from the person, then his /her peers and
lastly the trainer or manager. Therefore it is best to avoid the role of content
expert if at all possible and concentrate on facilitating and catalysing the
process.
1.
Have an open process for people to decide the issues they want to work on
at the event.
2.
Create a shared vision together of where you want to be in the future.
3. Ask each participant to commit publicly to what he or she will do as an individual at the end of the event.
People are wholes, the pure work
role does not exist, domestic concerns influence work and vice versa. It helps
to make it safe enough for people to share their concerns about the whole of
life. If one part does not work it will drain energy away from the others.
1.
This is much easier
one to one and even here people will only disclose personal stuff when they feel
both safe and cared for. Listening is key.
2.
Ask people, at the
beginning of an event, to talk briefly about something good and new that has
happened lately. Those that find this difficult may be suffering.
3.
Be informal and
relaxed and take your time, this will help participants do the same. Don't fill
every minute with prescribed activity.
Any training event should be considered as a whole. How people are told about the event and why they are going on it will influence their commitment to learning very substantially. It is hard to learn if you feel you have been sent on something to be 'fixed'. The people need to be in the right frame of mind too. Someone who is fighting to control sadness or anger due to a personal loss may well have nothing left over to contribute on a workshop and will resist and resent being drawn out. Some selection or self-selection process is desirable for the success of the whole.
Similarly attention must be given
to how people leave the event and to ensuring the organisation encourages them
to put their learning into practice. If it is not put into practice then from
the organisations point of view the work is a waste of effort.
1.
Spend as much time
thinking about how to get the right people on the right event in the right mood
as you do on the details of the design.
2.
Always ask people how
they come to be on the event. If people are sent and they resent that, give them
time to say how they feel and what they need. If you can, say they don't have to
stay if they don't want to!
3.
If possible, set up
support groups or coconsulting pairs so people can work together and encourage
each other after the event.
People value ideas they discover for themselves. They like to learn in individual ways too and work on issues and subjects of importance to them. The task of the trainer is to respond to those needs flexibly and individually. This is easier in one to one settings and in very small groups.
1.
Don't over plan. Be prepared to respond to people's needs as they arise.
2.
Find out what people want from the event and adapt you plans accordingly.
3.
I find this very
difficult indeed, in group-events but I aspire to having "emptier"
events where the participants co-create them as we go. This works one to one as
I never plan these at all and they go best of all the things I do!
More
information
I
have an article with two sample designs that show how I use these principles on http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nick.heap/Designlearningevents.htm
Eighteen
other designs are available via http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nick.heap/Coursesworkshops.htm
The
chapter in The
Human Situation by Harvey Jackins about Learning that I referred to in last
month's ezine is very relevant to this discussion.
I plan to
cover the subjects below in the next ezines. Which, if any, appeal to you? I
always welcome your feedback.
Developing
your people
Improving
working relationships
Personal
Development
Stimulating
creative thinking
Thinking
tools and processes
Tuning
up your mind
If
you have any particular developmental interests, you would like me to cover,
please let me know. I will try to respond if I can. If you have come
across these ezines recently, back numbers are available on http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nick.heap/Ezine.htm
Commercial
I
am a facilitator of change and development in organisations. I recently reviewed
the work I had enjoyed doing most and found that I enjoy helping
people in organisations find creative ways to be more productive. I like working
in a way that maximises my impact and that is usually with senior individuals or
teams. The best people to work with are open-minded risk takers who care about
people and want to change their organisations for the better.
If
you want to contact me, call +44 1707 886553, or email mailto:info@nickheap.co.uk
If you want to read about my work, or ideas, or read back issues of the ezines
you can also visit http://www.nickheap.co.uk/ I always enjoy informal chats.
Subscribing
To
subscribe, please send me an email with "subscribe" in the subject
line, or click subscribe
and then click send. To unsubscribe at any time, please send an
email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. I won't pass
your email details to anyone else.
If
you think that your friends or colleagues would like to see this, do forward
a copy on. If you have received this from someone else, you are most
welcome to subscribe.
Using
these materials
I
am entirely happy for you to use or draw on any these materials in any way you
think will be helpful. I am keen to have my work, and the work of the people I
have learned from, used.
Please
will you say where you found them? One way might be to give a link back to the web
site, www.nickheap.co.uk or email info@nickheap.co.uk.
This will help these positive ideas to spread, and help my business, too.
Best wishes,
Nick Heap
43 Roe Green Close
Hatfield
Herts AL10 9PD
UK
01707 886553
Web, with many resources: www.nickheap.co.uk
If you want to subscribe to this monthly ezine of practical developmental ideas, just click on the link below and then click on 'send'...
mailto:nick@nickheap.co.uk?subject=Subscribe